Enchanted Fruit and Arcane Orbs

Posted in DM Rules over 19 years ago

Enchanted Fruit

While arcane magic in other D&D worlds is often associated with ancient libraries, dark laboratories, and the world of inanimate objects, on Athas, arcane magic is inseparably linked to plant life. Every arcane spell pulls life from the land, either gently, as through preserving magic, or greedily, as through defiling magic. Thus some important preserver magicks are imbued in living plants such as trees of life and enchanted fruit, while defiler magic, the stuff of death, can never work with living plants.

Enchanted fruit includes potion-fruits, which work as potions, and spell-fruits, which work as scrolls. Both types of enchanted fruit can be used for the Botanical Enchantment spell (q.v.).

Potion-Fruits

On Athas, most potions come in the form of magical fruits or berries, though they are sometimes found as fluids in a flask or vial, or in the form of tiny obsidian globes (see Arcane Globes below). Any berry or fruit may be enchanted with a potion. The type of fruit chosen to house the potion has no effect; any fruit can contain any potion. To activate a potion-fruit, the user simply eats it. This is a standard action. Only living creatures can benefit from a potion-fruit. To create a potion-fruit, you need the Brew Potion feat.

Enspelled Fruit

Because preservers and druids often need to hide their spellcasting in order to escape deadly persecution, and because druidic shapeshifting prevents normal spellcasting, some spellcasters find it convenient to store spells within fruit. These are called "spell-fruits." Eating a spell-fruit activates it, just as with potion-fruits, so long as you are the appropriate type of spellcaster. To create a spell-fruit, you need the Brew Potion and Scribe Scroll feats. In other respects, spell-fruits follow the same rules as scrolls, i.e. the spell-fruit works through the spell-completion method, like a scroll.

Arcane Orbs

Arcane orbs store arcane spells within especially prepared obsidian spheres. Arcane orbs include potion-globes, which work like potions, and spell-globes, which work like scrolls. To activate the spell, the user must crush the arcane orb in his fist. Arcane orbs are convenient for defilers, who can gain access to spell effects while appearing to not defile the land, and without needing to use voice or hands to cast spells.

Spell Orbs

Spell-orbs are distinguished with a peculiar rune. Using the read magic spell, you can determine which spell is contained within a given spell orb -- the defiler that created the spell orb recognizes this immediately. To create spell orbs, you need the Scribe Scroll and Craft Arcane Orb feats. Only defilers can create potion orbs. In other respects, spell orbs follow the rules for scrolls. Whoever crushes the sphere is treated as the spell's caster.

Potion Orbs

To create potion-orbs, you need the Craft Arcane Orb feat. Only defilers can create potion orbs, although anyone can use them -- even undead creatures. In other respects, potion-spheres follow the same rules as potions. Whoever crushes the sphere becomes the target of the spell.

Feats

Craft Arcane Orb (Item Creation Feat)

You can create arcane orbs, which carry spells within them.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks knowledge (arcana), spellcaster level 5, defiler.
Benefit: You can create potion-globes, which work like potions, or spell-globes, which work like scrolls.

You can create arcane orbs, obsidian spheres that contain spells. Arcane spheres include potion-globes, which follow the limits and rules of potions, and spell-globes, which follow the limits and rules of scrolls. While potion-orbs are smooth as a marble, spell-orbs are distinguished with a peculiar rune. Using the read magic spell, you can determine which spell is contained within a given spell orb.

Botanical enchantment allows you to use one enchanted fruit to grow more. The original enchanted fruit (whether a potion-fruit or a spell-fruit) must be planted unused. From this fruit a magical tree grows quickly, producing a full-sized fruit tree. When the magical tree bears fruit, the harvest includes 0-3 (1d4-1) newly enchanted fruits of the same type, including caster level.

Someone (not necessarily the same caster) must cast botanical enchantment on the tree every two days while its potion-fruit are growing. The caster personally tends, waters, and prunes the tree as part of casting the botanical enchantment spell. A single casting of botanical enchantment takes care of a single tree for four days, thus a caster can tend multiple trees at a time with multiple castings of Botanical Enchantment. Any severe change in the weather, such as a drought or freeze, ruins the tree and no fruit will grow. Defiler magic destroys all developing potion fruits if any part of the defiler's radius extends within 30 feet of the tree.

While botanical enchantment is risky and time-consuming, it sometimes costs less to grow multiple fruit from a single fruit with botanical enchantment than it would cost to create each potion individually. More importantly, botanical enchantment gives the caster a chance of to duplicating enchanted fruits that she could not create by herself. Each casting of botanical enchantment requires 1/25 of a pound of powdered silver (equivalent to 2 silver pieces) and 10 gallons of water, and costs the caster 1 experience point.

The number of days of care required for the tree's fruit to mature depends on the market value of the fruit: 1 day for each 25 cp value of the enchanted fruit. For example:

Enchantment Type (market value in cp)

Time until harvest (Number of castings until harvest)

Total cp cost (if completed)

Total xp cost (if completed)

0-level potion-fruit (25 cp market value)

1 day (2 harvests of 0-3 fruits for 1 casting)

20 cp

1 xp

2nd- level spell-fruitwith 6 caster levels(300 cp market value)

12 days(Requires 6 castings for 1 harvest of 0-3 fruit)

120 cp

6 xp

3rd level potion-fruitwith 5 caster levels(750 cp market value)

30 days(Requires 15 castings for 1 harvest of 0-3 fruit)

300 cp

15 xp

As long as someone (not necessarily the original caster) successfully casts botanical enchantment on the tree every other day that the fruit is maturing, as long as the tree is watered and protected from harsh weather and defiling (see above), then the tree will bear 0-3 enchanted fruits. The tree continues to produce magical fruit at the same rate, as long as botanical enchantment is cast on the tree every two days. If the tree goes without receiving the botanical enchantment spell for more than 2 days, then the tree loses the ability to bear enchanted fruit, and becomes a normal tree of its kind.

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